40. Devils You Know
Devils You Know
Prism Malefic
Vore had never wanted to bring me back to Willowspire. Each time I spoke of it, his answer was unequivocally no. He claimed it was too dangerous, and I’d argued—he’d been right. Now, I could lose the two people I had left to love on this earth. My chosen mate and my only remaining family.
Sobs tore through my throat as I beat against the door.
The gray cat-eared man had locked me in some crimson tower bedroom.
All around me were windows to graves and gloom, and all I wanted was my wither.
I swore I could feel the vibration of power through the floorboards as what I was sure was an epic battle taking place somewhere below me.
What if I lost my sister ?
What if I lost my chosen ?
The pounding rumbling off the floor intensified until the door I beat against was shaking.
I stopped to listen more carefully. Something beat against my door with a snarl.
A snarl I recognized. “Vore!” I shouted, my heart leaping into my throat.
“I’m in here! I’m locked in—I don’t know how to get out. ”
Racing back, I ducked behind a chair, knowing what was coming next. After two more warning knocks, the sturdy wooden door splintered to bits. My wither stepped through, and immediately I jumped into his arms. “I’m sorry,” I cried into his chest. “I’m sorry for all of this.”
He didn’t need words. The way he looked at me and ran his claws through my hair was enough. “We have to get out of here,” I said, feeling the thrum of magic vibrate beneath us. It did something to my bones and tingled in my palms in an odd way.
Vore held me close, tucking me into his chest and cupping my head with his large hand.
I assumed we’d go out the way we came in—I assumed wrong.
With a gust of wind and no time to react, glass broke, and I felt the chill of the outside air as we barreled through a window and landed on the roof of the castle.
My scream muffled into my wither’s chest as he held me tightly, his other hand guiding our trail down the jagged stones.
Finally, we landed in a courtyard, the land around us full of tombstones perched at obtuse angles.
This place was horrid. I couldn’t wait to be home in Nisse.
Looking over his shoulder again, Vore shook his head before sprinting forward. We charged through an ivy covered gate and down a hill. Through the bumpy, hurried ride, I peeked over his arm to see us quickly gaining on Willowspire.
“We can’t go around?” I asked in a panic. “The townspeople will?—“
It was too late. Whatever assessment of the situation my wither had made had come up deciding it was safer to charge straight through Willowspire, despite all the people who’d see us, than to go around and avoid.
He was running fast, as if something was chasing us, but I saw nothing at our rear.
I was hopeful he was being overcautious, but something inside me told me that danger lurked closely.
Something whispered in my mind.
Something pulled at my senses.
I couldn’t describe the sensations… it was just as if I knew.
A woman screamed.
A man shouted.
And Vore’s feet hit cobblestone, charging us straight through Willowspire. We’d only made it halfway past the square when he stopped abruptly—the sounds of screaming and frenzied people all around us. Vore’s chest heaved, and he clutched me tighter. I leaned over his arm to take in the sight.
My mouth dropped open.
Standing in black, glaring daggers up at Vore, stood my sister. Her palms opened and something crossed her lips. “Rumor! No!”
Vore dodged to the side as some sort of magical attack missed us. A flurry of purple shimmer erupted, and Vore sat me down gently at the town’s fountain. I ran to my sister, pulling on her sleeve. “Stop it! I love him!”
“Shit!” She grabbed me, pulling me to the ground as something silver flashed above us and landed with a mighty thud.
Cadaver.
My sister spun on her heel, opening her palms again, this time her magic ignited like purple flames.
The flames reared back and struck, wrapping around Cadaver’s thick arms and burning.
The wither shrieked a loud scream that pierced my heart with sorrow.
All I could think about was Fable and their newly expected baby.
How heartbroken she’d be if something happened to Cadaver.
“Please!” I begged my sister, pulling her arm, tears staining my cheeks. “Please, leave them alone.”
Rumor glanced at me, a flash of compassion in her gaze, and Cadaver broke free and lunged for her. My sister screamed as the wither was upon her, one hand pinning her to the ground as he growled furiously in her face.
Was my fate this day to either watch my sister die or watch my beloved die? What could I even do other than watch on helplessly?
The town ran past, women screaming, babies crying. It was chaos and horror.
And it only got worse.
Suddenly, it was as if all the light disappeared—thrusting Willowspire into darkness. Everything seemed to pause for a long moment until white light conversely rendered us all blind. The growling stopped, and we all sought to find the source… as two beings stalked down the street.
One horned, onyx devil.
One horned, white devil.
Daimons, my sister had called them.
Vore and Cadaver stood, taking their stances as the daimons approached.
And all hell broke loose.